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If the sea has a place in your heart right next to your spouse-to-be, you may be considering a wedding with a nautical theme. From seaside venues and color palettes full of soft blues and greens to driftwood décor and lots of seafood, there are countless ways to plan a nautical wedding that’s both classy and unique. Perhaps one of the best ways to set the scene is to use a wedding program that fully embraces the ocean-inspired motif.
Here are 13 examples of nautical wedding programs that help you shape your big day around your love for your sweetheart and your mutual love for the water.
1. Nautical Stripes
Ahoy! Someone’s throwing you a rope, but instead of pulling you out of the surf, they’re encircling your names to kick off a nautically themed wedding program that’s simple yet undeniably charming. Nautical Stripes uses a clean white background and dark blue details to evoke a maritime aesthetic without being overly bold. This flat wedding program reserves the front side for information about the happy couple and the event itself while the back lists the wedding party and support cast, such as the ushers, musicians, and officiant.
2. Nautical Dreams
Anchors, sailors’ knots, and stripes — oh my! Nautical Dreams serves up a sophisticated smattering of maritime details complete with a dash of red and white and a headline font that would look right at home on the side of a boat or on top of a pier. Play with customizing the accent colors to add your own special touch to this otherwise water-centric design.
3. Making Waves
Making Waves helps make outdoor weddings fun by turning a wedding program into a personal cooling device. As guests use their wedding program fan to generate some air flow, they’ll be treated to a simple yet pretty design featuring meandering blue stripes and a trio of whimsical blue stars bordering your wedding details and the names of your bridal party.
4. Blooming Watercolor
Blooming Watercolor is proof you can have your nautical wedding without sacrificing your love for florals. A wash of ocean blue provides the perfect background for sketch-like illustrations of white flowers. Flip up on the folded program and the inside design is reversed — a white background with pretty blue flowers and a few nautical watercolor stripes to match.
5. USMC Sabers of Love
You won’t see any anchors or ship wheels on the front of this design, but the criss-crossed swords and the title USMC Sabers of Love says it all. This design salutes United States Marine Corp couples planning a wedding day that incorporates military service. It’s a part of your life, so it only makes sense that your passion and patriotism be a part of such a huge moment of celebration and commitment.
6. Grand Soiree
For nautically minded couples who love the yacht club and everything that goes with it but aren’t so certain about putting a boat or seashells front and center on their stationery, there’s Grand Soiree. This design isn’t explicitly nautical, but the liberal use of deep, rich navy and pristine white certainly feels oceanic. If you feel like going overboard (pun intended) with nautical décor, consider keeping your program relatively simple yet within the appropriate color scheme for a beautifully balanced result.
7. Florida
Florida doesn’t showcase a boat, lighthouse, or pier, but rather the view you get if you’re lucky enough to stand on one. Gaze upon this shoreline and bounty of breaking waves and you can almost smell the salty sea air and hear the gulls. An ombre skyline adds even more visual appeal, taking guests on a trip even if they never leave their seat.
8. Love’s Anchor
Anchors are heavy objects tied to a ship and thrown overboard to help hold the vessel steady. Come wind, rain, or hurricane, the anchor does its best to keep the boat in place, safe and secure. In a marriage, that’s what you often are for your significant other — their anchor. It seems appropriate to announce your vows with a wedding program called Love’s Anchor. A giant anchor dominates the front of the program while a dramatic navy blue background and white lettering help drive home the nautical theme.
9. Posh Chevron
Another fan-style wedding program, this one is emblazoned with a chevron pattern that feels innately nautical. The stripes default to a combination of gray, navy, and white, which is perfect for seaside I dos, but feel free to customize the color combo with your personal favorites or go for multiple shades of blue to amplify the aquatic vibes.
10. Beachcomber
Beachcomber is the very opposite of showy, but the beauty of this program is in its simplicity. The program itself is very understated, the white background and varying fonts in navy and azure hinting at a maritime theme without overtly stating it. But coordinate your program with the rest of the Beachcomber suite and you’ll see that each save-the-date card, wedding invitation, and even the reception items have a little nautical icon like a starfish that adds just enough whimsy to ensure guests read their stationery with a smile.
11. Watercolor Coral
Bring on the sunshine! In a sea of blues and whites, Watercolor Coral’s sunny yellow palette is a true standout. The yellow isn’t a dealbreaker — you can customize the color if you want — but it’s hard to go wrong with such a bright light on such a special day. (For extra shine, see how this program would look using our new shell shape!)
12. Scallop Seashell
They say if you put your ear up to a seashell you can hear the ocean. Our Scallop Seashell wedding program doesn’t come equipped for sound, but it’s certainly quite the sight thanks to a detailed close-up of a scallop shell printed in soft, hazy shades of light blue and white. It’s easy, it’s breezy, and it’s nautical with a delicate, almost ethereal twist.
13. Romantic Shore
Even in the dark of night, you can find your way to love when someone shines a light your way. Romantic Shore brings together the best parts of nautical lore and amore to create a wedding program that has nautical elements yet still feels very casual New England. The unique, off-center ceremony information on the front is a neat detail as is the watercolor graphic of beach grass and fencing on the back. All you need now is your intended, some sand beneath your feet, and a moment to say, “I do.”
For even more ideas, check out these beach wedding programs that shift the focus from boats in the water to where the water meets the land.